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Vaccinium ovatum “Thunderbird”, also known as huckleberry, has to be one of the best year round native evergreens for the Pacific Northwest garden and yet you hardly ever see it in the urban landscape. This is surprising since it always … Continue reading →

Joe is a 14 1/2 year old crossfitter and rower. Last year he did a big project about sports, fitness and nutrition for athletes. He is pretty food aware for a teenage guy. When he walks down to the boathouse … Continue reading →

One of the stars in the Pacific Northwest garden in the month of March is Tall Oregon Grape, also known as Mahonia aquifolium. This super hardy evergreen will thrive almost anywhere you put it. It tolerates wet or dry soil, sun or shade, but prefers shade to semi-shade.

Tall Oregon grape can grow as high as 10 feet and can be used as a hedge. The thorny, stiff and leathery leaves will deter those dog and cat “visitors”. In a shady location it tends to be thinner and leggy so pruning is a must if you want a thicket. It could be used as an alternative to bamboo.

Oregon grape in bloom

The yellow flowers that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are followed by bitter blue fruit which will attract other birds.

Last night I ended up throwing out a significant amount of moldy strawberries that I had bought on sale at the grocery store. I know when it’s “buy one get one free” time they are going to go bad quickly … Continue reading →